Gov. Bill Haslam of Tennessee protested in a letter to President Obama that no one in his state government had received notice that 760 of the estimated 50,000 unaccompanied minors who have entered the country illegally in the past several months have been sent to the Volunteer State.

Whether the impeachment of President Obama is "on the table," "off the table" or under the table is a matter hotly disputed these days by Democrats and Republicans as each side jockeys for position on the volatile issue of illegal immigration between now and the fall elections. Ironically, say the Republicans, it is the Democrats who are talking up impeachment.

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Unnamed White House officials told reporters on July 24 that the Obama administration is considering granting refugee status to minors and young adults from Honduras. The plan, which is still under consideration, would involve screening the youths in Honduras to determine whether they qualify to enter the United States as refugees or on emergency humanitarian grounds.

Judge Michael Baird of the federal Dallas Immigration Court said on July 22 that 18 of the children whose cases he was scheduled to hear on that day didn’t show up for court. The unaccompanied children were among 20 from Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala who were set to appear in Baird’s court for initial deportation hearings.

While there are legitimate questions as to the constitutional limits on federal authority over immigration (specifically with regard to whether the influx of illegals across the southern border constitutes an invasion), there is no question that states retain the power to secure their borders and to repel any attempt to cross them, particularly in violation of applicable law.

During a brief press interview outside the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) headquarters in Washington on July 22, Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) condemned President Obama’s executive amnesty for illegal immigrants via the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, saying, "All of that is a magnet and a beacon for people to come. You can’t have any kind of beacon without securing the border first."